ECC REPORT 7

Electronic Communications Committee (ECC)

within the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)

COMPATIBILITY BETWEEN INDUCTIVE LF RFID SYSTEMS

AND RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS IN
THE FREQUENCY RANGE 135–148.5 kHz

Beaune, February 2002

ECC REPORT 7

Copyright 2002 the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)
 ECC REPORT 7

INDEX TABLE

1 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................................................. 1

2 BACKGROUND................................................................................................................................................................. 1
2.1 ETSI STANDARDS AND ERC SRD RECOMMENDATION ............................................................................................... 1
2.2 INDUSTRY REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................................................................................... 1
3 INDUCTIVE RFID TECHNOLOGY IN THE LF RANGE......................................................................................... 2
3.1 RFID READER TECHNOLOGY, EMITTED SPECTRUM AND TRANSMITTER MASK REQUIREMENTS .............................. 2
4 LF BAND STUDY BELOW 148.5 KHZ ......................................................................................................................... 4
4.1 OVERVIEW OF THE LF BAND FROM 119–148.5 KHZ .................................................................................................... 4
4.2 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SERVICES DATA ............................................................................................................... 4
5 CONSIDERATION OF ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS AND S/N......................................................................... 5
5.1 ITU NOISE DEFINITION IN THE LF RANGE .................................................................................................................... 5
5.2 ACTUAL NOISE MEASUREMENTS ................................................................................................................................. 6
6 RISK OF INTERFERENCE TO PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SERVICES ....................................................... 7
6.1 RFID MARKET AND INSTALLED EQUIPMENT ............................................................................................................... 7
6.2 INTERFERENCE FACTORS AND DATA FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SERVICES ....................................................... 7
7 INTERFERENCE CALCULATION............................................................................................................................... 9

8 CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................................................12

9 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................................................12
ANNEX 1 Fields from magnetic dipole at 136 kHz................................................................................................13
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1 INTRODUCTION

Inductive RFID systems1 with passive transponders (also called tags) have been in use since 1980 or earlier. In 1990,
RFID applications started in the animal ID tagging business which is one of the major applications.

Other major inductive RFID applications are found in automotive and general industrial and commercial applications.
Inductive systems below 135 kHz represent the largest portion of the RFID business with nearly 200 Mio tags shipped
in 1999 and growing.

ISO has published the RFID Standards ISO 11785, ISO 14223 which operate at 134.2 kHz to provide globally
interoperable systems. Other inductive RFID standards below 135 kHz, such as ISO 18000-2 for Item Management,
are in process.

Recently the RFID industry has improved systems from “read-only” to “read-write” technology. New and efficient
anticollision protocols were introduced in order to manage bulk reading of a large number of tags within the antenna
field to avoid RFID tag pollution effects.

These “smart” RFID technologies require bi-directional communication of the reader with the tag and therefore the
modulation of the RFID carrier. RFID systems operating to ISO standards and in other major applications therefore
require a transmitter mask to accommodate the emitted modulation spectrum. The carriers of all inductive LF RFID
systems operate below 135 kHz. Their modulation spectrum cover emissions according to the transmitter mask as
specified in this report.

The report investigates sharing of RFID systems with primary and secondary services operating in the frequency range
between 135 and 148.5 kHz.

The LF band in generally suffers high atmospheric (and in many areas terrestrial) noise which can vary from
–10 dBµV/m to +20 dBµV/m or more. This can reduce functionality of systems and communication links which are
relying on far-field propagation severely in cases especially where the service has to be guaranteed on a business
level. Systems operating in the nearfield mode are less susceptible to this variation in noise levels.

The objective of this report is to show compatibility of RFID systems with other services operating in the frequency
range 135–148.5 kHz.

2 BACKGROUND

2.1 ETSI Standards and ERC SRD Recommendation

Early 1990, ETSI has started to develop the first generic Standards for SRD’s which included inductive devices and
published the I-ETS 300 330 in 1994. The Standard covers the frequency range of 9 kHz to 30 MHz. The LF range for
inductive devices was limited to below 135 kHz. Thereafter ERC has developed the SRD Recommendation 70-03
beginning 1995 (in FM/PT26) and has issued the first version by 1997.

The operating frequency range and levels for inductive RFID systems are in agreement with the ERC Rec70-03.

2.2 Industry Requirements

LF RFID systems present the largest and stable base of the RFID market and the technology can meet most of the
requirements with some exceptions. These are higher data speeds and there are also formfactor limitations due to the large
inductances of the transponder antenna coils.

Distinct advantages of inductive LF systems are the low absorption of materials in the line of sight between the reader and
tags. Operation of inductive RFID systems provide a larger range under adverse material absorption conditions as

1
Inductive RFID systems and a propagation model for frequencies below 30 MHz are described in ERC reports 044, 069
and 074. Inductive RFID systems operate in the nearfield with H-field roll-off of 60dB/decade.
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compared to higher frequencies. The choice of the frequency close to the upper band limit of 135 kHz was chosen because
of higher efficiency, small component, tag size and cost.

The inductive RFID technology uses tuned circuits with high Q and L/C ratio in the tags in order to maximize operating
range. The tuning capacitor ot the tag antenna circuit is integrated in the silicon chip and presents a significant part of the
chip size. Since the size of the tuning capacitor reduces with the square of the frequency, a high operating frequency
reduces chip size and cost.

3 INDUCTIVE RFID TECHNOLOGY IN THE LF RANGE

3.1 RFID Reader Technology, Emitted Spectrum and Transmitter Mask Requirements

An RFID system comprises the interrogator or reader and one or several tags as data carriers. The tags are attached to
objects like industrial, warehouse goods or animals. RFID systems are used in logistics for manufacturing or in automotive
applications, e.g. immobilisers or radio keys (car entry) systems, in animal identifications and in transportation
applications.
Smart RFID systems use bi-directional communication between reader and tags. They can differentiate between tags used
for different applications as well as to read a large number of tags within the interrogation field. Another important
requirement in critical applications is the ability to provide encryption.
Tags are normally dormant and only activated into a receive mode when interrogated or activated by the reader.
Once activated, tags wait for their “family” or AI (Application Identifier) code and the specific command for instance to
run an “anticollision” protocol. This protocol normally first inventory the number of tags in a given read zone prior to start
with the main read and/or write function. This minimizes air-time and “tag pollution” effects of Read-Only tags. Figure 1
shows a basic reader configuration.

Control Unit RFID Reader

Antenna

134.2 kHz Loop

Oscillator
Host Antenna
Modulator Amplifier

Figure 1 : RFID Reader Configuration

The reader spectrum of a 134.2 kHz carrier signal is shown in Figure 2. It should be noted that this reader signal spectrum
was operating about 4 dB below the maximum level of 65.5 dBµA/m.
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Figure 2 : Transmitter mask and measured magnetic field strength of a

bi-directional RFID reader system operating according to the ISO Standards
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4 LF BAND STUDY BELOW 148.5 kHz

4.1 Overview of the LF Band from 119–148.5 kHz

Current radio services share with inductive SRD’s the range from 119 kHz up to 135 kHz as defined in the SRD
REC 70-03 Annex 9.
The ITU regulations list for the LF range services FIXED, MARITIME MOBILE and RADIO NAVIGATION. The ERC
Report 044 has dealt with the requirements of these services up to 135 kHz.
In the range of 135 to 148,5 kHz, fixed, Maritime mobile and Amateur radio services are allocated and considered in this
report
The Figure 3 shows the present scenario of inductive applications.

ERC Rec 70-03 and EN 300 330

dBµA/m
50-60 % of all RFID Systems 40-50 % of all RFID Systems

TX Mask

42
TX Level in EN 300 330

37.7

119 120 122 124 126 128 130 132 134 136 138 140 142 144 146 148 kHz

Figure 3 : Primary and Secondary Services in the LF Range Inductive SRD Applications

A number of primary stations are allocated in the frquency range 119 – 135 kHz, one is located at 125 kHz which is the
RFID frequency with the highest usage and density (some 50 – 100 millions Transponders are deployed).
The amateur radio has a secondary service assignment as per the ERC Recommendation 62-01 in the frequency range
135.7 – 137.8 kHz. Two field tests were conducted to support the interference study as given in Item 5.

4.2 Primary and Secondary Services Data

Service: Fixed Maritime Mobile, Amateur Radio

Victim rx bandwidth 1100 200 200 / 0.5 Hz
Protected signal level 63 32 0 dBµV/m
Minimal SNR 12 12 0 dB
Permissible interference level 51 20 0 dBµV/m
(in rx bandwidth)
Permissible I L in 200 Hz QP 46 dBµV/m
Atmospheric noise level in rx 20 (80%, 200 Hz) 0 (20%, 200 Hz) dBµV/m
bandwidth

Table 1 : Primary Radio Services in the Band 119 – 148 kHz and Protection data
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The noise levels for the band 119 – 148.5 kHz are:

Bandwidth 2.7 1.1 0.5 0.2 kHz

Atmospheric noise level:

80 % 31 28 24 20 dBµV/m
20 % 11 8 4 0 dBµV/m
Manmade noise level: 0 dBµV/m
Quiet Rural
Rural 13 dBµV/m
Business 22 dBµV/m

Table 2 : Noise Levels

5 CONSIDERATION OF ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS AND S/N

5.1 ITU Noise Definition in the LF range

The ITU-R has defined the atmospheric noise field strength according to Figure 4.

Figure 4 : Atmospheric Noise versus Time and Seasons

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5.2 Actual Noise Measurements

The actual background noise level was recently monitored d during 4 full days in the week before the measurements (of June 12th, 2001).
An active loop antenna (H-field), as well as the L-type wire antenna (E-field) was used. For this purpose the ESH2 measurement receiver
(Rhode & Schwarz) was connected to a Tie Pie Handyscope, which was connected to a notebook PC, running a transient recorder
program.
Every three seconds a sample was taken.
Receiver settings: centre frequency 136.5 kHz, 500 Hz bandwidth, average mode.
(The peak was due to a regional thunderstorm.)

The Figure 5 shows the result of this noise recording.

Figure 5 : Observation of Atmospheric Noise Measurement over 24 Hours on June 6th 2001
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6 RISK OF INTERFERENCE TO PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SERVICES

6.1 RFID Market and installed Equipment

The RFID readers are potentially producing interference to other services while the transponders signal levels are typically
operating below the spurious levels and will not contribute to any additional risk of interference.
Secondly the number of readers relative to the tags per system varies considerably but in significant and major applications
the ratio of tags to reader can exceed 5.000 - 10.000 for instance in large warehouses, libraries etc.
The amount of RFID Readers can be assessed from the following data given in Table 3:
The total market volume of tags shipped in 1999 (per the year 2000, DATAQUEST Market study) is 200 Million units.
This study covers all LF tags operating worldwide below 135 kHz.

YEAR 2000 2005 2010 Units

Total Market of LF Tags (WW) ~200 ~ 300 ~ 500 Mio Tags/Y
Average number of tags per reader 2000 3000 4000
ISO 18000-2, 14223 and other industry - 20 30 %
134.2 kHz type systems of total RFID
Deployed Reader Systems (WW) - 20 38 k Units
Deployed Reader Systems In ERC countries - 8 15 k Units
Table 3 : Calculation of LF RFID Readers

The risk of interference from an inductive system to a user in the primary or secondary radio service is determined by
factors related to the inductive systems in a specific application, as well as related to the service.
Per application these factors are:
• Total number of the relevant installed and projected equipment
• Actual field strength,- generated by the inductive system in the specific application, relative to maximum
allowed transmitter field strength
• Duty Cycle.

The data of Table 6, Calculation of the risk of interference, have been supplied by the industry and RFID work groups of
organisations as ISO. Only those applications and equipment are given which use the carrier frequency of 134.2 kHz.

For equipment and application that does not generate a modulation sideband above 135 kHz, relative field strength of 0 %
has been substituted.

For the Duty Cycle factor, the ON time of the carrier has been taken, multiplied by a mean modulation factor, which is 1
for the high speed mode causing the modulation sidebands of Fig. 2 and 0.3 for the low speed mode with lower modulation
levels.

6.2 Interference Factors and Data for Primary and Secondary Services

For a radio service, the relevant factors are:

• Number of users and density of users related to colocation with inductive systems,
• Interference range and interference area, derived from a maximum permissable interference level, the receiver
victim bandwidth and the sensitivity of that service for interference.

For the Fixed Service, the only available data is the number of receivers in one country: 10000.
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For the Amateur Service the number of users of the 135.7 - 137.8 kHz band is derived from the total number of Amateur
Radio stations in the CEPT countries in the year 2000: 436.243 (IARU).
At the time of writing only 15 countries have implemented ERC/REC 62-01, or have planned to. The total of Amateur
Radio stations for these countries is 201.235. From current experience about 1 % of these stations is using the 135.7 -
137.8 kHz band, actively or passively. This results in a number of 2012 users.

Some amateur radio stations (estimated to be in the order of 1%) use very narrowband receivers of 0.5 Hz bandwidth.

Table 4, Data on population and Amateur Radio user Density in Europe, gives information about the population and
geographical area of the CEPT countries, source: http://www.gazetteer.de/, the number of Amateur Radio stations, source:
IARU, the implementation of ERC/REC 62-01 (the allocation of the 135.7 - 137.8 kHz band to the Amateur Service) and
the reduction of the numbers to the 15 CEPT countries which have implemented ERC/REC 62-01, or have planned to do so
(source: ERO).

A B C D E F G H I J K
1 Country Population Area Size Density RA stations RA/1000 ERC/REC 62-01? Population Area Size RA stations RA/1000
2 Albania 3608.4 28748 126 16 0.00 1 3608.4 28748 16
3 Andorra 68.6 464 148 94 1.37 0 0 0 0
4 Austria 8119.1 83858 97 6542 0.81 0 0 0 0
5 Belgium 10255.6 30518 336 5444 0.53 0 0 0 0
6 Bosnia-Hercegovina 4340 51129 85 1758 0.41 0 0 0 0
7 Bulgaria 8240.8 110994 74 3994 0.48 1 8240.8 110994 3994
8 Croatia 4688.1 56610 83 1837 0.39 1 4688.1 56610 1837
9 Cyprus 804.5 9251 87 581 0.72 0 0 0 0
10 Czech Republic 10325.1 78866 131 7147 0.69 1 10325.1 78866 7147
11 Denmark 5392.7 43093 125 10060 1.87 0 0 0 0
12 Estonia 1429.1 45226 32 634 0.44 1 1429.1 45226 634
13 Finland 5194.2 338145 15 6100 1.17 1 5194.2 338145 6100
14 France 58882.3 547030 108 19110 0.32 0 0 0 0
15 Germany 81981.9 357021 230 82151 1.00 0 0 0 0
16 Great Britain 59730.3 244910 244 58426 0.98 1 59730.3 244910 58426
17 Greece 10965.7 131957 83 2959 0.27 0 0 0 0
18 Hungary 10154.7 93030 109 8620 0.85 1 10154.7 93030 8620
19 Iceland 284.3 102819 3 146 0.51 1 284.3 102819 146
20 Ireland 3755.3 70273 53 1708 0.45 0 0 0 0
21 Italy 57989.9 301323 192 30000 0.52 1 57989.9 301323 30000
22 Latvia 2407.2 64598 37 215 0.09 0 0 0 0
23 Liechtenstein 33.6 160 210 15 0.45 0 0 0 0
24 Lithuania 3695.8 65300 57 871 0.24 1 3695.8 65300 871
25 Luxembourg 440.4 2586 170 582 1.32 0 0 0 0
26 Macedonia 2101.5 25333 83 200 0.10 0 0 0 0
27 Malta 384.3 315 1220 473 1.23 0 0 0 0
28 Moldova 4461.4 33700 132 217 0.05 0 0 0 0
29 Monaco 33.1 2 16550 65 1.96 0 0 0 0
30 Netherlands 16074.1 41526 387 14720 0.92 1 16074.1 41526 14720
31 Norway 4463.2 323759 14 5512 1.23 1 4463.2 323759 5512
32 Poland 38622.9 312685 124 16000 0.41 0 0 0 0
33 Portugal 10008.8 92391 108 4212 0.42 1 10008.8 92391 4212
34 Romania 22287.4 238391 93 3850 0.17 0 0 0 0
35 Russian Federation 145532.5 17031900 9 38000 0.26 0 0 0 0
36 San Marino 27.5 61 451 31 1.13 0 0 0 0
37 Slovakia 5428.6 49034 111 1030 0.19 0 0 0 0
38 Slovenia 1863.2 20256 92 6765 3.63 0 0 0 0
39 Spain 40117.1 504842 79 59000 1.47 1 40117.1 504842 59000
40 Sweden 8826.1 449965 20 11516 1.30 0 0 0 0
41 Switzerland 7407.7 41285 179 5500 0.74 0 0 0 0
42 Turkey 68634.8 779452 88 3000 0.04 0 0 0 0
43 Ukraine 50222.4 603700 83 18488 0.37 0 0 0 0
44 Vatican 0.85 0.44 1932 4 4.71 0 0 0 0
45 Yugoslavia 10211.5 102350 100 425 0.04 0 0 0 0
46
47 Totals 789496.6 23508856 33.58 438018 0.55 15
48 136 kHz only 236003.9 2428489 201235 0.85
Table 4 : Data on Population and Amateur Radio user Density in Europe

Amateur Service
Permissible interference level: 0 dBµV/m as derived from the 20 % curve in the ERC Report 069 which gives a level of
11 dBµV/m for a bandwidth of 2.7 kHz. This level is derived from ITU atmospheric noise data and gives an accumulated
chance of occurrence of 20 %. This level is only achievable in wintertime.

The corresponding interference range according the measurements and using a limit of 42 dBµA/m @ 10m is 374 m and is
592 m @ 50 dBuA/m.
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Some amateur radio stations (estimated to be in the order of 1%) use very narrowband receivers of 0.5 Hz bandwidth.
Considering a narrowband interferer (carrier only) and a 0.5 Hz victim receiver, the anticipated field strength level would
increase the interference range considerably. However when the interferer is a broadband signal, no increase in interference
distance occurs.

The Table 5 indicates the interference distance of broadband versus single carrier interference for 200 Hz and 0.5 Hz
receiver bandwidth.

Bandwidth victim receiver Broadband interferer Single Carrier interferer

200 Hz 374 374 m
0.5 Hz 374 5609 m
Table 5 : Interference Distances of Broadband versus Single Carrier Interferers

Fixed Service
Permissible interference level: 51 dBµV/m as derived from earlier measurements and related to the ERC Report 44.
The corresponding interference range using a limit of 42 dBuA/m@ 10 m is 62 m and is 84 m for a limit of 50 dBµA/m.

Maritime Service
Permissible interference level: 20 dBµV/m, derived from ITU atmospheric noise data.
The corresponding interference range using a limit of 42 dBµA/m @ 10m is 168 m and 228 m @ 50 dBuA/m. Number of
users, N_user = 0. The receiving sites are at sea.

The summary of the interference ranges for the different services is given in Table 6

Service Permissible Interference Interference range 1) Interference range

level 42 dBµA/m @ 10m 50 dBµA/m @ 10 m
Amateur 200 0 dBµV/m(200 Hz BW) 374m 592 m
Hz
Amateur, 0.5 -26 dBµV/m (0.5 Hz BW) 5609 m 14090 m
Hz/NBI
Fixed 51 dBµV/m 62 m 84 m
Maritime 20 dBµV/m (168 m) (228 m)
1)
The level of 42 dBµA/m is selected
Table 6 : Summary of Interference Ranges

7 INTERFERENCE CALCULATION

The Interference range of an inductive system in a specific application and for a given service, using maximum permitted
power, is R. The interfered area is , is number of inductive systems in that application.

The statistical number of interference cases, , is set by the ratio of interfered area, , and the populated area, ,
multiplied by the number of users. Assumed is that the total of the interfered area, multiplied by the number of users, is
much smaller then the populated area:

The populated area is smaller than the total geographical area, as given by Table 5, because of excluding scarcely
populated areas as mountain sites, natural parks, etc. Neither RFID systems, nor radio users will be there.
Also to be taken into account is that even in rural areas the population is not distributed equally, but more or less is
concentrated in groups of farms and family houses, leaving open space between them.
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To take this into account a populated area, , is defined as the product of the numbers of inhabitants, , and a
population density factor, . Giving a basis for an estimated value of , the average population density of a dense
populated country such as The Netherlands is 387.

This leads to estimation:

The number of inductive systems in a specific application, , is derived from the total number of relevant inductive
systems, , multiplied by the market share of that application, .

Further, the effect on the number of interference cases for a specific application, , is the duty cycle in that application,
, and the reduction in interference area caused by the reduced field strength in that application, .
So:

and:

The total number of interference cases is given by:

So:
2
N rfid .ms.dc. fr 3 .π .R 2 .N users
pint = ∑
N pop
d
For the ease of the calculation, service specific factors are put together in the service specific factor, :

with:
π . R . N users
2

K service
N pop
d

From these data it is also possible to derive the probability of interference to a single station (fixed or amateur), in an
average populated area (400 hab/km²), using a simplified model, valid for low probability of interference :

2
N rfid .ms.dc. fr 3 .π .R 2
pint = ∑
N pop
400
or in a densely populated area (10000 hab/km2):

2
N rfid .ms.dc. fr 3 .π .R 2
pint = ∑
N pop
10000
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The result of the risk of interference calculations is given in Table 7 below.

A B C D E F G H I J K
3 Interference range@42dBµA/m (R_42) 374 62 5609
4 Interference range@50dBµA/m (R_50) 592 84 14090
5 REC 62-01
6 Population CEPT (N_pop) 283741824 236003900
7 Average density populated area (d) 400
8 Populated area [km²] (A_pop) 709355 590010
9 Number RA stations 436243 201235
10 Percentage RA active on 136 kHz 1% 1%
11 Number potential victims AR Service (N_users) 4362 2012
12 Pi 3.1415926
13 Number potential victims Fixed Service (N_users) 10000
14
15 Application Marketshare Relative Duty cycle 134.2 kHz? Fixed Service Amateur Service Am. Serv. 0.5 Hz
16 field strength 42 dBµA/m 50 dBµA/m 42 dBµA/m 50 dBµA/m 42 dBµA/m 50 dBµA/m
17 K_Service 0.0001691 0.0003125 0.0014988 0.0037552 0.3371049 2.1272385
18 Automotive, Immobilizer 25.00% 0.00% 10.00% 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 Automotive, other (Passive Intry) 2.00% 50.00% 10.00% 0.5 0.003196 0.0059057 0.0141626 0.0354848 3.1854418 20.101144
20 Animal tagging, Read Only 15.00% 0.00% 100.00% 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 Animal tagging, Read/Write 2.00% 50.00% 100.00% 1 0.03196 0.0590572 0.2832514 0.7096957 63.708835 201.01144
22 Other Agricult. Application 3.00% 40.00% 100.00% 1 0.0413134 0.0763409 0.3661479 0.9173959 82.353915 207.87169
23 Cargo handling 4.00% 50.00% 100.00% 0.5 0.0639199 0.1181144 0.2832514 0.7096957 63.708835 402.02288
24 Access, Personal control, ID 4.00% 100.00% 100.00% 0.5 0.1014665 0.1874949 0.4496335 1.1265718 101.13147 638.17154
25 Item Managment, General 12.00% 60.00% 50.00% 0.5 0.1082717 0.2000698 0.4797895 1.2021287 107.91416 680.97243
26 Vehicle ID, Parking access 2.00% 100.00% 100.00% 0.5 0.0507333 0.0937475 0.2248167 0.5632859 50.565736 319.08577
27 Industrial Process control 4.00% 30.00% 100.00% 0.5 0.0454713 0.0840241 0.201499 0.5048624 45.321106 285.9905
28 Logistics, general 2.00% 50.00% 80.00% 0.5 0.025568 0.0472458 0.1133005 0.2838783 25.483534 160.80915
29 Warehouse shipping, receiving 5.00% 80.00% 80.00% 0.5 0.0874412 0.1615782 0.3874824 0.9708501 87.152461 549.95957
30 Warehouse control, (Handheld reader) 6.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.5 0.0016395 0.0030296 0.0072653 0.0182034 1.6341086 10.311742
31 Vehicle Detection, Monitoring 2.00% 80.00% 100.00% 0.5 0.0437206 0.0807891 0.1937412 0.4854251 43.57623 274.97978
32 Waste Control 7.00% 90.00% 100.00% 0.5 0.1655221 0.3058599 0.7334858 1.8377732 164.97547 1041.0474
33 Other 5.00% 20.00% 40.00% 0.5 0.0173505 0.0320612 0.0768862 0.1926411 17.293238 109.1258
34
35 Total of number of cases of interference 100% 0.79 1.46 3.81 9.56 858.00 4901.46
36
37 Probability of interference (average) 7.876E-05 0.0001455 0.0008744 0.002191 0.426369 2.43569
38
39 Probability of interference (dense areas) 0.0019689 0.0036383 0.0218612 0.0547739 10.65924 60.89225
40
41
42
Table 7 : Calculation of the Risk of Interference

Discussion of the effect of very narrow victim receiver bandwidths on the risk of interference

In the case of a narrowband interferer (constant carrier) the interference range increases very much, and is equal to 5.6 km
for a 0.5 Hz receiver bandwidth. Consequently the calculation of the probability of interference is approaching or
exceeding 1, i.e. the simple formula is no more valid. But at the same time the risk of co-channel is reduced by a factor
, wherein is the victim receiver bandwidth, and (= 2.1 kHz) is the bandwidth of the
Amateur service allocation.

So for an estimation of the interference probability to the Amateur Service this co-channel factor has to be
included. From Table 7 for an interference range of 5609 m, a limit of 42 dBµA/m@10m, 20 %, wintertime, noise level)
we arrive to a number of cases of 858. This number must be multiplied by , so we arrive at 858*0.5/2100=0.20
cases, which gives a probability of interference of 0.20/2012 = 0.01% in average populated area and 0.25% in densely
populated area. We assumed here that all users of the LF amateur band are (potential) users of these very low speed
techniques.

For the cases of a broadband interferer, the distance of interference to narrow victim receiver is the same as the distance of
interference to 200 Hz victim receiver bandwidth and the co-channel factor does not apply. The probability of interference
will therefore be be 3.81/2012= 0.16%.

Remark :
In the case of a victim receiver bandwidth of 200 Hz, and a narrowband interferer, a Pco-channel of 200/2100 = 0.095 also
applies, causing a probability of interference of 3.81*0.095/2012= 0.018% in average populated area (the value of p=3.81
is calculated assuming a density of d = 400 hab/km2, see Table 7) and 3.81*0.095/2012*10000/400= 0.45% in a densely
populated area (d = 10000 hab/km2).
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8 CONCLUSION

From Table 7 and the discussion above, a few conclusions can be drawn:

• The statistical number of expected interference cases for the CEPT area is given as 0.28 for the fixed and 3.81 for the
Amateur service (for the limit of 42 dBµA/m @ 10m in 135–140 kHz and 37.7 dBµA/m @ 10m in 140–148.5 kHz).
This corresponds to a probability of interference of 0.2% for Amateur Service and 0.003% for Fixed Service, includes
narrowband receiver systems and is valid in the case that all RFID equipment is installed at once.

• Although the absolute values have a large uncertainty due the great number of estimations in the input numbers, the
relative difference between expected interference cases for both limits is stable: 8 dB increase in limit level gives a
85 % increase in the expected number of interference cases, therefore the level of 42 dBµA/m was chosen.

• Due to the combination of duty cycle and readers operating at average field strength, resulting in a low probability of
interference, the level of 42 dBµA/m @ 10 m can be justified.

9 REFERENCES

M05_12r0_SE24 System Reference Document for RFID Systems operating under ISO14223-1 11785 and 11784
ERC Report 69 Propagation Model and Interference Range Calculation. For Inductive Systems 10 kHz-30 MHz
ERC Rec 70-03 Relating to the Use of Short Range Devices
ERC Rec 62-01 Use of the Band 135.7-137.8 KHz by the Amateur Service
ISO 11785 Radio Frequency Identification of Animals, Technical concept

ISO 14223-1 Radio Frequency Identification of Animals, Advanced Transponders

EN 300 330-1 Short Range Devices, Radio Equipment in the Frequency Range 9 kHz to 25 MHz and Inductive Loop
Systems in the Frequency Range 9 kHz to 30 MHz; Part 1, Technical Characteristics and Test
Methods.
M13_39R0_SE24 Addition to the draft Report Compatibility between Inductive LF RFID Systems an Radio
Communication Systems in the Frequency range 135-148.5 kHz
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 ECC REPORT 7
Page 13

ANNEX 1